text:
The Cost of Raising a Child
The Tooth Fairy's expenses have been rising recently.
Where are we going? To how a child costs more than money.
The Tooth Fairy Cost
If the Tooth Fairy visited your house during 2016, she probably left close to $4.66. Higher than her 2015 cost, that $4.66 price was even more for a first tooth ($5.72).
Also, the price depended on where you live:
What Our Children Cost Us
The tooth fairy is a very tiny slice of the $233,610 that we spend to raise a child through age 17. (The infographics are from the USDA.)
With housing the largest, the expenditure categories are what we would expect:
However, it is not quite that simple.
How much you spend depends where you live. As with the Tooth Fairy, the Midwest is cheapest. But the Northeast exceeds the West and rural areas are less than cities when we look at total cost:
Income and Age
Our income and the age of our children also determine what we spend:
And when we add in an annual college expense, the totals can skyrocket.
Our Bottom Line: Economies of Scale
Perhaps though the cost of children is really about economies of scale. Or, we could say that they are "cheaper by the dozen" when they share a bedroom, pass down clothing and consume cases from Costco.
A married-couple spends close to 27% more on a single child than a family with two children. Meanwhile, compared to that family with two children, having three or more lets you save a whopping 24% on each child.
But not really.
When you think about the intangible cost of time, stress and sacrificed opportunities, those economies of scale shrink.
My sources and more: While my tooth fairy totals were from USA Today and Delta Dental, I suggest looking at the USDA child cost materials for the whole picture. They are voluminous. But the best study was here on the cost of the stress kids create.
Tags childcare cost cost of children economies of scale expenditures on children USDA
Elaine Schwartz has spent her career sharing the interesting side of economics. At the Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, she has been honored through an Endowed Chair in Economics and the History Department chairmanship. At the same time, she developed curricula and wrote several books including Understanding Our Economy (originally published by Addison Wesley as Economics Our American Economy) and Econ 101 ½ (Avon Books/Harper Collins). Elaine has also written in the Encyclopedia of New Jersey (Rutgers University Press) and was a featured teacher in the Annenberg/CPB video project "The Economics Classroom." Beyond the classroom, she has presented Econ 101 ½ talks and led workshops for the Foundation for Teaching Economics, the National Council on Economic Education and for the Concord Coalition.
March Madness Money Facts
How Color Helps Firms Compete
Our Weekly Economic News Roundup: From Cocktails to Milk
January 2022 Friday's e-links: "The Apollo Murders"
How Broadway Shows Catch a Cost Disease
cost and benefit
When the Cost of a Plane and a Wait Are Similar


http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | When was the last time you thanked a cop? And wouldn't it be nice if, for just a brief moment, the mainstream media would hold a ceasefire in its incessant cop-bashing crusades?
There are good cops and there are bad cops. But national press outlets, predisposed to harp on law enforcement as an inherently racist and reckless institution, hype the hellions at the expense of the heroes. Case in point: The hysterical feeding frenzy this week over reports of a cop shootout gone awry in Compton, Calif., and of a Seattle officer who reportedly Tasered a pregnant woman over a speeding ticket.
As Jan Golab writes in a cover story for The American Enterprise magazine this month on how political correctness undermines policing: "Today, cops all across the United States battle a foe as destructive as crime itself: the presumption of common prejudice. This view has been fanned by a media elite which has made 'diversity' its virtual religion." The anti-cop bias, Golab notes, comes through the national MSM's "sins of omission— the stories never told. Propaganda, as Orwell said, is in what gets left out."
Thus, we'll be subjected to wall-to-wall coverage of the Tasered pregnant lady and the shot-out SUV. But you won't see Peter Jennings reporting on the tragic loss of Denver Detective Donald R. Young. The married father of two and a recipient of the police Medal of Honor was shot three times from behind last weekend in a cold-blooded ambush. Police believe the tattooed young assailant, a suspected illegal alien, has fled to Mexico. Det. Young had received numerous awards during his 12 years on the Denver police force. He was awarded the police department's medal of honor and a distinguished service cross.
In 1990, Vick pulled [Rachel] Patterson's 3-year-old son clear of a fatal house fire on Sherburne Avenue in St. Paul. Then he broke through a window, crawled beneath the smoke and took her unconscious 15-month-old daughter out. He went back in to rescue her husband and 5-year-old son, but it was too late.
For his efforts, Vick won the department's highest honor the Medal of Valor.
"Officer Vick saved my life," said Patterson's daughter, Kacheala Willis, now 15 and in the 10th grade at a high school in Houston, Texas. "I hope he makes it into heaven."
Sgt. Vick leaves behind a wife and two children.
Det. Young and Sgt. Vick may not be on the media' radar screen, but they will undoubtedly be on the minds of those gathering in Washington, D.C., this week to commemorate National Police Week. The event kicks off on Friday with a much-needed reminder of the grossly underappreciated sacrifices American men and women in blue have made to protect us. At the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, the names of 415 fallen officers will be read and added to the memorial.
"Some people reach a point where they can't face another dead body, another senseless murder, another grieving family member. Or another dead police officer. Then there are some who can do the job every day, for 20 or 30 years. I thank G-d for people like that."
Me, too. Thank you, officers. From the bottom of the heart: Thank you.


PREVIEW: Bolton at home - AVFC - Aston Villa Fansite, Blog, & Forum..
Aston Villa will return to Villa Park this evening for the live Sky Sports game. Bolton Wanderers are the visitors in what will be Dean Smith's second home game. A lot has been made of Smith's first full week in training with the squad. There was even an internal friendly which allowed the new head coach to take a look at youngsters and fringe players.
Our start to the season has been unacceptable. Regardless of who the manager is/was, we must do better on a whole. There have been signs of improvement since Smith became the head coach but we will have to improve on that one win in three.
As others have already discussed on the website this week, November is a big month. It could potentially make or break our 2018-19 Championship campaign.
Aston Villa will pay respect before the game against Bolton. The tragedy at Leicester last weekend will coincide with our remembrance day acknowledgements.
Bolton have started the season as a mixed bag. They sit 19th in the Championship but that doesn't tell the whole story. They have won four league games so far. They have included wins against the likes of West Brom and Derby County.
In fact, their last win came against Derby at the end of September. They have failed to win a game in 5, during October. Bolton have won 9 of their 16 points this season on the road so Villa will have to be at their best. So where are they strong and what are their weaknesses?
Their biggest weakness is goals. They have scored just 11 goals this season which is the joint worst in the division. The 9.8 shots on goal per game (compared to Villa's 13.1) will explain that. Their strengths are their aerial ability. They have won more aerial duels (34.9 per game) than any other side in the Championship.
Mark Beevers is my one to watch in this fixture. As in previous games against the likes of QPR and Millwall, I highlighted that we must keep the ball on the floor and be careful of the long high ball over the top. We lost both those games so I am hoping we have learned from previous experiences.
Beevers has an average rating of 7.28 this season and will look to play long high balls. He is weak at short passing however so we should like to press high and put him under pressure.
Birkir Bjarnason will miss the game with a groin injury. Better news for Albert Adomah though who has trained all week and will be in contention. Smith has stated that Yannick Bolasie is improving by the day and is pushing for a start. Striker Keinan Davis is closing in on a return also.
Bolton could welcome back Sammy Ameobi following an injury. The forward has trained all week and Phil Parkinson has been impressed. Former Villa midfielder, Stephen Ireland will miss out with a calf injury.
Aston Villa and Bolton are both founding members of the Football League. So it is no real surprise when I tell you that they have met on 163 occasions.
Villa edge the head to head battle with 64 wins to Bolton's 60. The away side have edged the encounters more recently. Villa has won just 2 in the last 7 meetings between both sides.
Last season when the two sides met, the home side won 1-0 on both occasions.
The first-ever meeting took place in 1988. Villa beat Bolton 3-2 in the old Division One.
Predicted XI: Nyland; Elmohammady, Tuanzebe, Chester, Taylor; McGinn, Hourihane; Adomah, Grealish, Bolasie; Abraham.


text:
Q: Confluent KSQL server on Windows - could not find or load main class I'd like to connect to my own Kafka instance in order to try KSQL. I downloaded the latest version of Confluent Open Source platform - https://www.confluent.io/download/
I follow the https://docs.confluent.io/current/ksql/docs/installation/server-config/index.html and try to start KSQL server on my Windows 10 machine from Git Bash:
ksql-server-start ksql-server.properties

but it fails with the following error:
Error: Could not find or load main class io.confluent.ksql.rest.server.KsqlServe                                                                                rMain

What am I doing wrong and how to properly start it?

A: I added confluentinc/cp-ksql-server:5.0.0 Docker image(below is Maven io.fabric8 docker-maven-plugin code):
<image>
    <name>confluentinc/cp-ksql-server:5.0.0</name>
    <alias>cp-ksql-server</alias>
    <run>
        <ports>
            <port>8088:8088</port>
        </ports>
        <links>
            <link>kafka:kafka</link>
        </links>
        <env>
            <KSQL_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS>${local.ip}:9092</KSQL_BOOTSTRAP_SERVERS>
            <KSQL_LISTENERS>http://0.0.0.0:8088/</KSQL_LISTENERS>
            <KSQL_KSQL_SERVICE_ID>confluent_test_2</KSQL_KSQL_SERVICE_ID>
        </env>
    </run>
</image>

and now able to connect to KSQL CLI via following CLI image:
docker run -it confluentinc/cp-ksql-cli http://172.22.160.1:8088

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


On February 26th Ryder Diamonds attended the Asian Wealth Management Forum at the W Hotel.
Hubbis hosted its 9th annual event in Hong Kong for the Private Wealth Management Community. More than 350 CEOs, COOs, and other senior practitioners attended – from a mix of local and international Private Banks, Retail Banks, Insurance Companies, Independent Firms & Family Offices, Asset Management Companies, and IFAs.
Sally Ryder was a guest speaker at this year's forum sharing her decade of diamond experience at the forum. Sally spoke about asset management advice from a diamond perspective offering a new viewpoint for the attendees.


text:
Financial planners fear ruin as AMP puts them out of business
Peter Dutton sounds warning on Invasion Day protests
Finance Finance News Financial planners fear ruin as AMP puts them out of business
12:03pm, Sep 12, 2019 Updated: 12:07pm, Sep 12
AMP-aligned financial planners say they are being ruined by changes to the rules about buying back their businesses. Photo: ABC
Elysse Morgan
Embattled wealth manager AMP is forcing hundreds of its own financial planners out of business, with many at risk of losing their homes as it slashes the amount it will pay them for buying out their businesses.
AMP unveiled its plan last month to slash the number of its aligned advisers by a third, as it aggressively tries to restructure the business.
It wrote to about 190 of its aligned financial planners, telling them their partnership with AMP was being terminated by the end of October.
It is also cutting by almost half the amount that it will pay them to buy back their business.
AMP had an agreement with planners that it would buy and sell at four times the annual earnings of each business but it has now told them, given the changes to the world of financial planning, it will only pay two-and-a-half times the earnings of businesses.
That has devastated some planners who have spoken to the ABC.
"I don't think there's words that are strong enough," one planner said.
"To be sold something on one basis, and then to have that basis completely eroded by a significant amount is absolutely reprehensible, in my opinion."
The planner bought a book of clients from AMP several years ago but it is now terminating him.
"In effect, it means AMP can buy books back now for significantly less than what they sold it to you," he said.
The ABC cannot disclose any details about the planner. AMP has a confidentiality clause in its termination letters.
"In the paperwork that's been put in front of me that I haven't yet signed, if I don't paint AMP in a glowing light they can remove all options that are currently available to me and essentially throw me on the street," he said.
Planners say they will be left in debt after AMP buys back their business at its reduced offer.
Many planners likely to be left in debt
In the past, AMP encouraged planners to take out loans to buy their businesses.
Many the ABC has spoken to have loans that are bigger than what AMP has said it will now pay for those businesses.
At the end of October, when AMP shuts them down, they will potentially be left with no income and a large loan.
AMP Financial Planners Association CEO Neil Macdonald said he had been inundated with calls from members fearing for their futures.
"People's homes are definitely on the line. We know that they've told us that they've got loans maybe several hundred thousand dollars, and the only way they are going to get it cleared is to sell their house," he said.
"But you'd like to think that AMP will do the right thing and make sure that doesn't happen."
Mr Macdonald said that, until recently, AMP was still encouraging planners to take on extra debt to buy more clients and grow their business.
"It's not something they stopped doing three or four years ago; they were still encouraging people to borrow money, and probably still are encouraging people to borrow money," he told The Business.
'Institutional power to walk all over the small guy'
Another financial planner who spoke to the ABC, applied to sell his business back to AMP earlier this year, a process that normally takes 12 to 18 months.
When he applied, AMP was paying four times, but he has been told by his AMP case worker that the wealth manager will not hold to that agreement, and he will be paid about two-and-a-half-times his business's annual income.
Instead of receiving about $500,000 for selling his business back to AMP, he said he would walk away with a sizeable loan, which he took out to buy the business in the first place.
"They are using institutional power to walk all over the small guy … I don't have the financial power to win court cases. And it's scary," he said.
He is one of the 90 per cent of AMP aligned financial planners who have voted to pursue a class action.
He no longer wanted to be an aligned AMP planner as he watched the company implode in scandal after scandal at the banking royal commission.
"I lost faith in whether AMP could provide what they needed to stay the same trustworthy company they were," he told The Business.
'Very worried about their mental health'
The planners argue they are being thrown under the bus by AMP in response to wrongdoing by the company exposed at the financial services royal commission.
"We're very worried about some of our planners, particularly their mental health," said Mr Macdonald.
"We are probably speaking to three or four a day, just to refer them to counselling support services."
He said some of those affected have been planners for a long time and have no other career options.
"Some of them, they've been doing this for 30 or 40 years and this has been their life, and suddenly they've lost their business," Mr Macdonald said.
"They're not sure if they're going to walk away with a loan. They're worried about their clients."
In response to questions on whether AMP will forgive loans, or ensure no planner will be left with a debt, AMP said: "We have a range of support measures available to practices."
AMP said the changes to its buy-back program reflect "the significant economic changes that have occurred across the industry, including legislative change that will cease grandfathered commissions, and other market disruptions".
The company is already facing several other class actions as a result of last year's royal commission, which revealed a raft of scandals, including fees for no service and misleading the regulator, which led to the departure of the chief executive and chair, and the shredding of the company's share price.
But this planner believes it is all about profit.
"There's no doubt about it, AMP is in survival mode and I daresay AMP have decided that small, one-man practices like myself do not now fit into their business model," he lamented.
Australia in danger of falling through the economic looking glass

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Брежу-да-Мадри-ди-Деус () — муниципалитет в Бразилии, входит в штат Пернамбуку. Составная часть мезорегиона Сельскохозяйственный район штата Пернамбуку. Находится в составе крупной городской агломерации . Входит в экономико-статистический микрорегион Вали-ду-Ипожука. Население составляет 38 109 человек на 2000 год. Занимает площадь 762,088 км².

История
Город основан в 1893 году.

Статистика
 Валовой внутренний продукт на 2002 год составляет 90 217 реалов (данные: Бразильский институт географии и статистики).
 Индекс развития человеческого потенциала на 2000 год составляет 0,579 (данные: Программа развития ООН).

География
Климат местности: полупустыня.

Муниципалитеты штата Пернамбуку

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


You have painstakingly built your business over time to the point where you are now. And businesses are like safes – you put money in them, you retain earnings to grow them, and then, you look forward to the day when you can open that safe and take out some of the money that you have patiently put their over time.
But, one day you might just want to harvest some of your accumulated wealth in your business. The question is how do you do it?
What do you plan to do with your business when you are ready to get out of it? Will you transition it to family members? Or, do you have a management team who wants to purchase the business from you? Or, do you have an outside buyer who has expressed interest in your business? Each of those alternatives has its own set of issues, with the financing part of it being one of the major issues which must be addressed.
If you transition your business to family members, not only are there family dynamics to take into account, but there are tax issues which must be addressed.
If you transition your business to a management team, will they have the wherewithal to finance the purchase without some kind of seller financing? Will they be able to secure the financing needed?
If you sell your business to an outside third party, even if you do not have to take sellers' notes, there will be some sort of participation that they will require – typically, you or your family will be asked to keep a percentage of the business and/or stay on to manage it for some time.
But there is an alternative which could allow you to accomplish your transition goals, and at the same time, harvest some wealth from your business, possibly on a tax favored basis. And, this alternative could help you in accomplishing your goals.
We have helped some of the top companies and families in this region to establish business transition plans which work for them. Could we help you? To see an example of how this can be accomplished, please call us at (318) 425-0406 Ext. 103, fax us at (318) 226-1006 or email us at jgriffin@ssgfingrp.com. We look forward to showing you what can be accomplished.
A solid wealth transfer plan can provide a gift-giving opportunity for grandparents that can last for the lifetime of their grandchild and can be a legacy asset, which will be kept and utilized throughout the lifetime of that grandchild.
Our planning process is an intersection of my engineering and financial background, the use of sound accounting principles, and legal knowledge gained over time. My experience with asset valuation issues has helped us create a very effective way to evaluate various wealth transfer strategies and model their impact for our clients over time.


Gabriel (Peabbles) Zacchai has been writing, recording and performing original music, stories and audiobooks for over 30 years. He has recorded over 100 completed songs since 1988; 95 of which have been recorded on 8 Albums and collected works. His influences combine Neil Young, Mason Jennings and the old Bluegrass masters with the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Leadbelly and the North Mississippi All-Stars. Zacchai's repertoire ranges from upbeat and catchy folk to hard-driving soulful blues and rock. His work has been featured on WMPG, WERU and MPBN radio, as well as KXCI in Tucson, 'IN Tune by Ten' with Sarah Willis, and in Maine Home and Design Magazine. His audiobook narration and production work for various authors can be found on Amazon. In addition to recorded storytelling, he is the Producer/ Director of ForkTale Maine and Mid-coast Memory Theater, both live storytelling and community building projects. Gabriel lives in Mid-coast Maine with his Wife, two sons, and a time machine that you aren't supposed to know about so don't ask about it.
Celena was born in Texas and grew up listening to Dire Straits, Jim Croce, and ZZ Top. She picked up her first Bass in 2005 and learned to play it through the deadlines and demands of live performance with local bands "The Distance" and "Abilene Paradox", eventually becoming the Bassist for the first year of performance by the Gabriel Zacchai Trio. Celena has appeared on MPBN radio, at the Common Ground Fair and contributed backing vocals for the album "Great Escape". She is currently theupright bassist for the folk duet "RootGrass". She lives in Mid-coast Maine with her Husband, two sons, and a time machine that you aren't supposed to know about so don't ask about it.
Whispering Ham Productions has been turning out subversive multimedia for over 20 years. Everything Ham is imagined, written, recorded, produced and distributed by Gabriel Zacchai. Music, Audiobook production, storytelling and anything else we can think up comes to you by way of the Ham.


Julie Kay wants to get knocked up. Badly. She's been working on it for months but to no avail. This leads her to a specialist in the field, Dr. Knight. The good doctor is known for "cutting edge" and "non-traditional techniques" when it comes to helping a woman get pregnant, and today's he's going to implement one of those techniques. He's got three men with higher-than-normal sperm counts; in fact, these guys have counts so high, they're in the top 1% of the male species. In addition, Dr. Knight strongly feels that when a woman's sexuality is heightened, the chances for a pregnancy are significantly higher as well. The doctor will actually participate in his own procedure, before all four men deeply inseminate Julie. You're reading this correctly: all four men take a turn unloading deep inside Julie Kay without any break whatsoever, which is Dr. Knight's final procedure. If this doesn't work, Dr. Knight will make another appointment…this time, with more men!


If you want to improve the look and feel of your Hillman-area home with an upgrade in flooring, turn to your local Carpet One. Hillman-area Carpet One stores can be counted on to supply your Minnesota home with top-of-the-line flooring options, flooring installation, and warranty protection that are the best in the industry. We have everything from quality ceramic tile to laminate flooring and everything in between.
Shopping at Carpet One will change the way you think about flooring. At your Carpet One near Hillman, we proudly provide you with flooring for all lifestyles and all budgets. Our Carpet One sales professionals will help you navigate the selection process with additional guidance from our SelectAFloor™ system, which leads you to find your perfect floor at a perfect price. Whether you need a hardwood floor that will look great in any room or versatile vinyl that will resist wear and tear while still looking beautiful, rest assured that you can find what you need by shopping at Carpet One near Hillman. In addition, there are a variety of SelectAFloor ™ warranties from which you can choose to ensure that your floors perform well long after installation.
It's truly easy to find reasonably-priced, quality flooring at your Carpet One near Hillman. Rely on your Carpet One near Hillman to help you achieve your vision and renovate your floors with professional ease. Visit your Carpet One near Hillman to get started today, and we can help you change your home for the better!


Yep boxes are huge. Do you flatpack? They take more space than the figurines.
Can't flatten them because the plastic clamshells or the foam still in them.
1. Box of Sylvanas compared to Genji to give you an idea of size and just how huge Sylvanas is.
Why do you have to keep the boxes?
So if you need to put them away, sell them, move house etc. there's somewhere they can safely go back into. They lose about 1/3 of their value if you don't have the box when reselling.
oh, ok. If I bought such a thing I'd want it packaged up safely, but I can't imagine getting all bent out of shape if it wasn't the original box. You must have a LOT of room for all of the boxes for yours.
The thing is, the boxes are actually beautiful. I can only speak for Blizzard, but the box art is very nice, which is why people want the boxes.
Also it helps for moving and what not. People also want the boxes to verify that the item is genuine and not a knock off.
But it is an absolute pain keeping the boxes as they are huge.
Yeh... they are absolutely everywhere lol. Thought about storing them in the ceiling but it gets too hot in there and the plastic clamshell will melt. Same story with storing them in a shed. So they just go in the spare room for now.
Do you store anything with moisture absorber just to be safe?
I suppose you could get a storage locker, but that makes an expensive hobby even more expensive.
My first Prime 1 Statue! Guyver 1 Bust. It's nice. About 1/4 scale.
RH probably fine where he is.
Weather hasn't been that great in Sydney, quite humid for a while now.
Had to put some boxes in storage so we wrapped them in decent plastic packing bags inside of a storage box in case any leaks got through and I read somewhere that it's possible that there can get moisture inside. Those little sillica gel packets are cheap as and maybe worth using for our storage.
Oh if I put mine in storage I'd definitely use them too. In fact a lot of them comes with it and I just leave it inside the box after taking the stuff out. But I don't really go out of my way to put extra in. The boxes are kept in a spare room so moisture is not really an issue.
And on figures, waiting for these two to come out.
The annoying part is waiting for them to come out! Neo early next year and John Wick late next year.
They look absolutely amazing, especially John Wick.
They do look really good. Saw some 3rd party MiB ones too and they've got the egg chairs and mono bike coming too. I'm really trying hard not to diversify into too many series lol.


I have a bizarre gut reaction every time I step into my local Tesco express store. For some reason every time I shop there I feel bad; bad about myself and bad about our society. It affects me in a personal and negative way that no other retail store does.
1.They are soulless: This is the crux of the issue, it relates to the whole set up and feel of my local store. Efficient yet impersonal, characterless, no ambience. Not in any way part of the community. Alien. I only shop there when all other shops are closed, and I immediately regret it.
2. Zero customer service: It is clear when you walk into the store that customer service is not a priority, it seems designed to minimise customer interaction at all costs.
3. Staffing: Any time I have shopped there, I have only seen 2 staff – they are expected to manage 2 self-service tills and 2 normal tills, plus somehow keep stock replenished and manage customer queries. I always leave feeling sorry for the staff. They try their best but have an impossible job, they often seem stressed.
4. Pricing: I know every time that I shop there that I am paying more than I would be paying if I was just a bit more organised. I leave the store wondering why I didn't plan my week better.
5. Really bad design: Maybe it's just my local store, but the store design is appalling. Cold, characterless, impersonal, cramped.
6. It reflects changes in our society: As much as I hate to admit it, many aspects of this store reflects changes in our society. In our current busy lives we need convenience stores and Tesco rightly recognise that they need to compete in this market. The store is open convenient times, and it has a wide range of products in a small space. But somehow it feels all wrong, Tesco haven't figured out how convenience shopping should feel.
Tesco has been a retail phenomenon over recent years and remain the market leader in Ireland (just about). They are world leaders in supermarket retail. The Tesco brand is being damaged by the Tesco express model, which either needs to be disbanded or totally redesigned, because right now they are getting it wrong, badly wrong.


I am a Hong Konger. Five years ago I decided to give up the conventional life to pursue the path of a location-independent entrepreneur in the health and wellness sector.
Live-streaming through Periscope is my new found passion. It has opened up many doors and allowed viewers to observe my life in Hong Kong (and my travels). I love the interaction and showing viewers about Asian cultures, lifestyle and values. I also love conducting interviews, sharing business ideas and creating travel shows with Periscope and other social media platforms.
By having monetary support from viewers, I wish to have more resources to create better quality of content for all to enjoy. Equipment upgrades, traveling expenses, meals to treat interviewees etc are mostly out from my own pocket. It would mean a lot if few can share the load to show extra support of the effort I put in. Or think of it as treating me a cup of coffee (or 2) if you like what you are seeing.
*In case of any incident whereby patron displays abusive behaviour or trust is compromised I will deny patron's access to my private account.
I will follow your Twitter, Snapchat, and/or Instagram account(s).
With over 1,000+ hours of live-streaming experience and a good network of VIP broadcasters in Periscope, I can provide valuable advice if you would also like to pursue the career of a broadcaster in platforms like FaceBook, Instagram or Periscope.
If I achieve this goal I will be able to out-source part of the content creation process and expand beyond Periscope (e.g. YouTube videos, blogs, e-books etc).


What shows are in your season?
SOUTHERN GOTHIC: Currently running until December 9, 2018 Subscription tickets may be redeemed for any performance beginning August 1, 2018.
Subscriptions vary based on day of the week, but all season passes offer a 25% discount off full-price, single-tickets.
Yes! Complimentary ticket exchanges are just one of the many perks of being a Playhouse subscriber. Other perks include invites to exclusive subscriber events and 25% off any additional ticket purchases.
What is the difference between a 2 show and 3 show subscription?
A 2-show subscription includes tickets to NOISES OFF (beginning in January 2019) and THE RECOMMENDATION (beginning in May 2019). A 3-show subscription also includes a ticket to our fall extension of SOUTHERN GOTHIC.
What is the difference between bronze, silver, gold and platinum subscriptions?
All of our subscriptions are flex passes, meaning you purchase a season pass now, but will get to select an exact performance at a later date. Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum refer to which days of the week you can 'redeem' your subscription.
Bronze – You can redeem your subscription on any Wednesday throughout the run.
Silver – You can redeem your subscription on any Wednesday, Thursday, or Sunday throughout the run.
Gold – You can redeem your subscription on any day of the week, including Friday & Saturday.
Platinum – A platinum subscription is like a gold subscription, in that you can redeem your tickets any day of the week, including our most popular showtimes: Friday & Saturday. Additionally, the platinum subscription includes a $100 donation to the Playhouse to continue our artistic producing efforts. As a thank you, your first drink each visit will be on us!
What happened to your top shelf and house seat options?
SOUTHERN GOTHIC and THE RECOMMENDATION will be immersive productions, with general admission, so there are no seating types for those two productions. NOISES OFF will feature our signature 'Top Shelf' seating for all subscribers; this swivel, club chair-style seating will allow you to view the classic comedy in the utmost comfort.
Return to the Subscriptions page.


Elizabeth Warren has 506 videos in the C-SPAN Video Library; the first appearance was a 2007 Senate Committee as a Professor. The year with the most videos was 2017 with 131 videos. The year with the highest average number of views per program was 2011 with an average of 23,003 views per program as a Special Adviser for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of the Department of the Treasury. Most appearances with Amy Klobuchar (11), Damon Silvers (11), Chuck Schumer (10). Most common tags: Banking & Financial Markets, Road to the White House, Democratic Party.
* The first paragraph of this page uses material from the Wikipedia article 'Elizabeth Warren', which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Footnotes and parentheticals have been removed.


Although out of the way, it is close to the best attractions on the North Coast. You can visit spectacular National Parks, Mt. Warning (the massive remnant of an ancient volcano), or just drive to the amazing Hanging Rock swimming hole located close by.
Privacy and seclusion make it ideal for a honeymoon get away or personal retreat.
available for an extra charge (P.O.A.).
Enjoy Alternative Living with Solar Power and Ecologically Sustainable practices.
As of Feb 2011, the retreat plan to take guests on a weekly basis but will consider short stays guests as well and have all this info and prices on the booking section on their website. They have increased their nightly rates but weekly are the same. If you would like to de stress, are looking at a place to self heal, be creative with art or writing in a quiet environment, then contact Julie or Govinda at Sundara.


Hurrah! The Faverolles and assorted bantams have arrived! The next 21 days will see them gently rotating at 100F in a third grade classroom at a local school. I heard that the children are very excited, but then again, so am I! Here they are getting settled in their new home.
There are 12 Faverolles eggs that will be the start of my breeding flock. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy lists this breed as "threatened" and we hope to help in our small way. I purchased the bantams because I thought the kids would get a kick out of the tiny eggs and chicks. It was hatchery's choice and they chose: 6 Quail Belgian Bearded D'Anvers, 2 Porcelain Belgian Bearded D'Uccles, 2 Golden Sebrights, and 2 Silver Sebrights.
We'll keep you updated with what hatches. If you want to see the story behind the eggs, visit our Letters to Chickens post.
Congratulations, my dear girls, for you are going to be big sisters! You must feel so grown up. The fertile hatching eggs of our newest flock members arrived in the mail yesterday. They were snuggly wrapped in paper towels and expertly cushioned for the journey. My lovely chickens, do you remember being shipped as day-old chicks? I remember your arrival. You were curious and pecking at every new thing, much like you do now.
Let me tell you about your new sisters and brothers. The twelve Faverolles eggs came as promised as did a hatchery selection of twelve bantams: 6 Quail Belgian Bearded D'Anvers, 2 Porcelain Belgian Bearded D'Uccles, 2 Golden Sebrights, and 2 Silver Sebrights. I admit I had a momentary twang of disappointment. These were not the breeds I was hoping for! Where were the Silkies with their funny feather poofs? The Barnvelders with eggs the color of dark chocolate? Why did I have to get these birds out of all the possible breeds that the hatchery carried? Mommy was sad because she had read that the pretty Sebrights can be standoffish and flighty; Quail D'Anvers sweet, but plain. Does this mean I'm a bad mommy? Then I thought that perhaps this was a cosmic lesson in acceptance and love. I pushed that disappointment away and made a promise: I am your mommy and I will love you no matter what.
Daddy was a little distressed by the twenty-four new eggs now that they have arrived. He said that was a lot of chickens. I think he is concerned that mommy won't have the courage to chop off their heads and eat them. Gosh, I guess when I write it like that it does seem a little drastic. No wonder daddy is uneasy, but I promise to be brave and follow through in my decision to participate in the rooster culling necessary to a small heritage flock.
My darling girls, I know you are curious to meet our new family members. They will be home with us soon enough. I delivered your new sisters and brothers to that nice teacher and his class this morning. They will incubate them for 21 days and welcome them with love and affection into this world. I hope the children enjoy learning about chickens and farming and the miracles that are you. I hope they feel special because they are contributing to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy's mission to rescue beautiful breeds from extinction. I find helping is a dualistic action: Simultaneously altruistic and selfish. That feeling that you receive more than you give. Mommy is very grateful to you, dear chickens, for all that you give in exchange for simple grain and grass.


text:
Wednesday, January 6, 2021 - 16:10
The UK Government has been warned that Brexit is threatening a "talent pipeline" for new artists.
At the end of the UK government's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's inquiry earlier this week, Welsh Labour MP Kevin Brennan asked Parklife festival founder Sacha Lord, and Anna Wade, a director from Boomtown Fair, about the impact of Brexit on their respective festivals.
Lord, who is also the Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, told Brennan that while visa problems may not be an issue for bigger, established headliners, it will crush a vital platform which festivals offer to up and coming talent.
"When you stand at Parklife and look at the headliner, that headliner has not become a star overnight," Lord said. "They've started from grassroots and grassroots venues. So if you look at a six-piece band now, to bring them into Parklife you're probably looking at £1,800 in visa fees, which for smaller bands which are just breaking is not viable."
It had been hoped the final UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement, which was reached on Christmas Eve 2020 (just days before new regulations came into place on 1st January 2021), would include special consideration for touring professionals — including free, longterm working travel arrangements for artists and crew. As it stands, the current deal imposes new regulations, tariffs and visa requirements that will make such tours far more expensive and complicated. It raises further fears over what this fresh blow could mean for the recovery of a UK music industry, which was worth £5.2billion before the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic.
While Wade admitted that Boomtown Fair was a permit-free festival, she told Brennan that her worries were "for that talent pipeline, the venues in the UK, and the festivals, if we don't have places for these people to craft and hone their talent then the pipeline will just dry up."
A petition has been launched demanding the UK Government negotiates a new Visa-free cultural work permit for touring professionals and artists, which has already garnered more than 220,000 signatures. DJ Mag has been covering what Brexit could mean for music on an ongoing basis. Read up on advice for European DJs playing British dates, our take on British DJs playing European dates, then dive into official UK guidance for artists touring the EU.
Brexit europe UK Parklife Boomtown Fair
M-Beat: the return of a jungle pioneer
1.2 million people sign up for "Christmas Rave" event at 10 Downing Street
Berlin dancing ban contested by Clubcommission
Rihanna named as National Hero as Barbados becomes republic
UK DJs and musicians will be able to tour in Spain without visa under new deal
New book documenting the European free party scene from 1997 to 2005 is out today


text:
National Health Policy 2017 Highlights
The government of India unveiled National Health Policy 2017 (NHP – 2017) to address the changing context of healthcare sector. The last National Health Policy was introduced in 2002.
Aim of National Health Policy 2017
The primary aim of NHP – 2017 is to inform, clarify, strengthen and prioritize the role of the Government in shaping health systems in all its dimensions.
The policy envisages as its goal the attainment of the highest possible level of health and well-being for all at all ages, through a preventive and promotive health care orientation in all developmental policies, and universal access to good quality health care services without anyone having to face financial hardship as a consequence.
Targets under National Health Policy 2017
Life Expectancy and healthy life
Increase Life Expectancy at birth from 67.5 to 70 by 2025.
Establish regular tracking of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) Index as a measure of burden of disease and its trends by major categories by 2022.
Reduction of Total Fertility Rate to 2.1 at national and sub-national level by 2025.
Mortality by Age and/ or cause
Reduce Under Five Mortality to 23 by 2025 and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) from current levels to 100 by 2020
Reduce infant mortality rate to 28 by 2019
Reduce neo-natal mortality to 16 and still birth rate to "single digit" by 2025
Reduction of disease prevalence/ incidence
Achieve global target of 2020 which is also termed as target of 90:90:90, for HIV/AIDS i. e,- 90% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, – 90% of all people diagnosed with HIV infection receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression
Achieve and maintain elimination status of Leprosy by 2018, Kala-Azar by 2017 and Lymphatic Filariasis in endemic pockets by 2017
To achieve and maintain a cure rate of >85% in new sputum positive patients for TB and reduce incidence of new cases, to reach elimination status by 2025.
To reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.25/ 1000 by 2025 and disease burden by one third from current levels.
To reduce premature mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases by 25% by 2025.
Coverage of Health Services
Increase utilization of public health facilities by 50% from current levels by 2025.
Antenatal care coverage to be sustained above 90% and skilled attendance at birth above 90% by 2025.
More than 90% of the newborn are fully immunized by one year of age by 2025.
Meet need of family planning above 90% at national and sub national level by 2025.
80% of known hypertensive and diabetic individuals at household level maintain "controlled disease status" by 2025
Cross Sectoral goals related to health
Relative reduction in prevalence of current tobacco use by 15% by 2020 and 30% by 2025.
Reduction of 40% in prevalence of stunting of under-five children by 2025.
Access to safe water and sanitation to all by 2020 (Swachh Bharat Mission).
Reduction of occupational injury by half from current levels of 334 per lakh agricultural workers by 2020.
National/ State level tracking of selected health behaviour.
Health finance
Increase health expenditure by Government as a percentage of GDP from the existing 1.15% to 2.5 % by 2025.
Increase State sector health spending to > 8% of their budget by 2020.
Decrease in proportion of households facing catastrophic health expenditure from the current levels by 25%, by 2025.
Health Infrastructure and Human Resource
Ensure availability of paramedics and doctors as per Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS) norm in high priority districts by 2020.
Increase community health volunteers to population ratio as per IPHS norm, in high priority districts by 2025.
Establish primary and secondary care facility as per norms in high priority districts (population as well as time to reach norms) by 2025.
Health Management Information
Ensure district-level electronic database of information on health system components by 2020.
Strengthen the health surveillance system and establish registries for diseases of public health importance by 2020.
Establish federated integrated health information architecture, Health Information Exchanges and National Health Information Network by 2025.
Priority Areas of National Health Policy 2017
The policy identifies coordinated action on seven priority areas for improving the environment for health:
The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
Balanced, healthy diets and regular exercises.
Addressing tobacco, alcohol and substance abuse
Yatri Suraksha – preventing deaths due to rail and road traffic accidents
Nirbhaya Nari –action against gender violence
Reduced stress and improved safety in the work place
Reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution
Important highlights of National Health Policy 2017
Shift in Focus from "sick-care" to "wellness", by promoting prevention and well-being.
It intends to gradually increasing public health expenditure to 2.5% of the GDP.
It intends to increase access, improve quality and reduce costs. It proposes free drugs, free diagnostics and free emergency and essential healthcare services in public hospitals.
It focuses on primary health care. The policy advocates allocating two-thirds (or more) of resources to primary care. It proposes two beds per 1,000 of the population to enable access within the golden hour (the first 60 minutes after a traumatic injury).
It highlighted AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) as a tool for effective prevention and therapy that is safe and cost-effective. It also proposes introducing Yoga in schools and offices to promote good health.
It focuses on Make in India for manufacturing of drugs and other equipment.
http://cdsco.nic.in
Click to go to RBI Grade B Preparation Page
Advertisement by Google
Pradhan Mantri JI VAN Yojana – Promote Bioethanol
Measures of Poverty, Poverty Gap, Poverty Ratio
Bancassurance Explained: Benefits, Bancassurance Models
What is BIMSTEC – Objectives, members and summit
Bank Recapitalisation and Comprehensive Reform Plan


text:
Mikołaj Korzistka – polski kompozytor, pieśniarz i tłumacz.

Życiorys
Z wykształcenia anglista, od końca lat osiemdziesiątych przebywa w Chicago, gdzie pracuje jako tłumacz. W 1984 roku, jako członek zespołu Bus-Stop, otrzymał nagrodę na FAMIE. W roku 1985 w duecie z Bogdanem Frymorgenem zdobył 3 miejsce na Studenckim Festiwalu Piosenki w Krakowie oraz wyróżnienie w koncercie Debiuty na festiwalu w Opolu. W 1986 otrzymał wyróżnienie na Studenckim Festiwalu Piosenki w Krakowie. W 1987 uczestniczył w nagraniu płyty polskich wykonawców muzyki country "Corrina, Corrina". Po wyjeździe do USA występował w polskich klubach w Chicago. W roku 2000 roku założył z zespół 5000, z którym nagrał 3 utwory na płytę-składankę "Grammy". Nagrał płytę "Z Krakowa do wczoraj", która ukazała się w roku 2015.

Linki zewnętrzne
 Mikołaj Korzistka Z Krakowa do wczoraj, Muzyka – Radio Kraków
 Mikołaj Korzistka. Oficjalna strona artysty.

Polscy kompozytorzy muzyki rozrywkowej
Polscy tłumacze
Polscy wokaliści


text:
Q: How to configure p6spy with datasource in Spring + tomcat 7 +MySQL I have been trying to configure p3spy logging system on my maven based spring project.But each time when i try to configure p3spy differently. i get always errors.
Here is my following settings
I placed p6spy-2.3.0.jar, spy.properties and mysql-connector-java-5.1.17.jar inside the tomcat/lib directory.
tomcat/context.xml
<Resource auth="Container"
            driverClassName="com.mysql.jdbc.Driver"
            name="jdbc/myDataSource"
            type="javax.sql.DataSource"
            url="jdbc:p6spy:mysql://localhost:3306/coexi?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=utf-8"
            username="root"
            password=""
            maxActive="100"
            maxIdle="50" />

while using this above settings.. it gives me this following error..

Cannot create JDBC driver of class 'com.mysql.jdbc.Driver' for connect URL 'jdbc:p6spy:mysql://localhost:3306/coexi?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=utf-8' java.sql.SQLException: No suitable driver

Here i also tried to replacce few settings inside this resources.
<Resource auth="Container"
            driverClassName="com.p6spy.engine.spy.P6SpyDriver"
            name="jdbc/myDataSource"
            type="javax.sql.DataSource"
            url="jdbc:p6spy:mysql://localhost:3306/coexi?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=utf-8"
            username="root"
            password=""
            maxActive="100"
            maxIdle="50" />

And by using this code, getting this following error:

Cannot instantiate com.p6spy.engine.logging.appender.Log4jLogger, even on second attempt.
  java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.p6spy.engine.logging.appender.Log4jLogger

main/config/PersistanceConfiguration
@Bean
public DataSource dataSource() {
    Context ctx;
    try {
        ctx = new InitialContext();
        return (DataSource) ctx.lookup("java:comp/env/jdbc/myDataSource");
    } catch (NamingException e) {
        LOGGER.info("Error to find the database : \"java:comp/env/jdbc/myDataSource\".");
    }
    return null;

tomcat/lib/spy.properties
driverlist=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver

deregisterdrivers=true

includecategories=info, statement
excludecategories=info,debug,result,batch
logfile     = /Users/coexi/Documents/spy.log

append=true

log4j.appender.STDOUT=org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender
log4j.appender.STDOUT.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
log4j.appender.STDOUT.layout.ConversionPattern=p6spy - %m%n

log4j.logger.p6spy=INFO,STDOUT

/main/resources/logback.xml

<appender name="STDOUT" class="ch.qos.logback.core.ConsoleAppender">
    <encoder>
        <pattern>%d{HH:mm:ss.SSS} [%thread] %-5level %logger{36} - %msg%n
        </pattern>
    </encoder>
</appender>

<appender name="GEN_FILE"
    class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.RollingFileAppender">
    <file>${catalina.base}/logs/general.log</file>
    <rollingPolicy class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.TimeBasedRollingPolicy">
        <!-- daily rollover -->
        <fileNamePattern>gen_%d{yyyy-MM-dd}.log</fileNamePattern>
    </rollingPolicy>
    <encoder>
        <pattern>%d{HH:mm:ss.SSS} [%thread] %-5level %logger{36} - %msg%n
        </pattern>
    </encoder>
</appender>

<category name="com.p6spy">
    <priority value="INFO" />
</category>

<logger name="org.hibernate.SQL" additivity="false" >
    <level value="DEBUG" />
    <appender-ref ref="SQLROLLINGFILE" />
</logger>

<logger name="org.hibernate.type" additivity="false" >
    <level value="TRACE" />
    <appender-ref ref="SQLROLLINGFILE" />
</logger>

<root level="info">
    <appender-ref ref="STDOUT" />
</root>
<root level="error">
    <appender-ref ref="ERRORS_FILE"/>
</root>

main/resources/log4j.xml.backend
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>

http://jakarta.apache.org/log4j/'>
<appender name="console" class="org.apache.log4j.ConsoleAppender">
    <param name="Threshold" value="INFO" />
    <param name="Target" value="System.out" />
    <layout class="org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout">
        <param name="ConversionPattern" value="%d{yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss} %-5p %c{1}:%L - %m%n" />
    </layout>
</appender>

 <category name="com.p6spy">
    <priority value="INFO" />
  </category>

<logger name="org.hibernate.SQL" additivity="false" >
 <level value="DEBUG" />
 <appender-ref ref="SQLROLLINGFILE" />
</logger>

<logger name="org.hibernate.type" additivity="false" >
 <level value="TRACE" />
 <appender-ref ref="SQLROLLINGFILE" />
</logger>

<root>
    <level value="INFO" />
    <appender-ref ref="console" />
</root>

Fullstack error.
http://pastebin.com/3LpgtPtr

A: I had similar problem with configuring p6spy on spring + hibernate + mysql + slf4j + log4j
My aim was to log full sql with params to ide console instead hibernate query logging.
Inserting :p6spy: into db config url didn't help me(i got error during starting app with can't load db driver P6DataSource on the classpath) and i found workaround:
you can add something similar to this into your applicationContext.xml or create beans using @Profile(...) and @Configuration spring annotations:
in applicationContext.xml add this:
<beans profile="dev">
   <jee:jndi-lookup id="dataSourceReal" jndi-name="db_jndi_name" resource-ref="true"/>
    <bean name="dataSource" class="com.p6spy.engine.spy.P6DataSource">
        <constructor-arg name="delegate" ref="dataSourceReal"/>
    </bean>
</bean>

<beans profile="!dev">
     <jee:jndi-lookup id="dataSource" jndi-name="db_jndi_name" resource-ref="true"/>
 </beans>

all db urls and others properties are old, i just added maven dependency for p6spy (current last version for me is 3.0.0-alpha-1):
<dependency>
        <groupId>p6spy</groupId>
        <artifactId>p6spy</artifactId>
        <version>3.0.0-alpha-1</version>
</dependency>

added spy.properties with following properties:
realdriver=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
appender=com.p6spy.engine.spy.appender.Slf4JLogger

and all works fine, but i had single line logging that i change with my formatter based on hibernate fomatter like this:
package com.my.package.logging;

import com.p6spy.engine.spy.appender.MessageFormattingStrategy;
import org.hibernate.engine.jdbc.internal.BasicFormatterImpl;
import org.hibernate.engine.jdbc.internal.Formatter;

public class P6spyHibernateSQLFormatter implements MessageFormattingStrategy {
    public static Formatter formatter = new BasicFormatterImpl();

    @Override
    public String formatMessage(int connectionId, String now, long elapsed, String category, String prepared, String sql) {
        return "#" + now + " | took " + elapsed + "ms | " + category + " | connection " + connectionId
                + "\n" + "Hibernate query with params:" + formatter.format(sql)  +";";
    }
}

and added formatter to spy.properties:
logMessageFormat=com.my.package.logging.P6spyHibernateSQLFormatter

and also i disable hibernate logging...
All works fine for me right now!

A: You are using the wrong class name for the appender in spy.properties.  The log4j logger was removed in 2.X, in favor of a slf4j logger.  The correct class name is com.p6spy.engine.spy.appender.Slf4JLogger.
See the docs for further details.
BTW - The spy.properties that you are using is for P6Spy 1.3.  You should discard that file and replace it with the 2.X version (after editing to include the appropriate changes for your requirements).


What's Really Going On In The Murray Darling Basin?
Home » Travel Outback Australia » Road Trips » Darling River Run » What's Really Going On In The Murray Darling Basin?
The Darling River is dying. It has been for a while now. Slowly, agonisingly dying.
Self-interest lobby groups blame lack of rain. Politicians check with their mates in the aforementioned lobby groups and big agricultural companies, then release a statement with the appropriate gravity and solemnity.
South of Tilpa, April 2018.
This is simply politicians doing what they do best, i.e. living by their mantra of "If you tell a big enough lie and tell it often enough, it will be believed by the masses".
Yes of course lack of rain is a problem. But it's not the root cause.
And no, this article is not just another cotton industry-bashing exercise. Yes they have a major role to play, no doubt. However in New South Wales at least, there's a bigger picture at play. One that's not immediately apparent.
What Else Is At Play Here?
What's In It For The Cotton Industry?
Is Queensland Still In Australia?
So what's going on in the Murray Darling Basin? To answer this, let's start with a pipeline no one wanted.
Broken Hill relies on a water pipeline. Until recently it ran about 100km from Menindee Lakes to Broken Hill. So Broken Hill's water came from the Darling River.
But now, Broken Hill has a shiny new pipeline… running 270km from the Murray River at Wentworth.
By piping water from the Murray instead of Menindee Lakes, then Menindee Lakes can be drained.
Menindee Lakes are shallow therefore have a huge evaporation rate. So if the Lakes are empty then the water can't evaporate. Far better to store the water in deeper storages.
The implication here? By saving this water, it can be returned to the river. Warm and fuzzy images of water flowing down the Darling spring to mind. Alas, this is quite simply a lie, as you'll see later.
You'll notice they usually add the term "man-made" when talking about Menindee Lakes.
Wrong. They've been there way before we were. Yes they were modified and expanded, but the lakes have been there for many thousands of years.
Before we go on, let's look back at what Menindee Lakes were before they were turned into a commodity.
Menindee Lakes were part of a chain of natural wetlands that were present along the length of the Darling River, way before white colonisation. Each wetland would fill during wet times and slowly release water back into the river, ensuring the river continued to flow, even in the driest times.
This chain of wetlands ensured continuous flow of the river even in the driest times, and Menindee Lakes were a vital part of this chain.
"Hang on", I hear you say. "Hasn't the darling River always gone through cycles of flooding then drying? It's normal for the river to stop flowing".
Wrong. This is a myth. Check out this article, aptly titled "The Darling River Is Simply Not Supposed To Dry Out, Even In Drought".
By the way, the same lie has been perpetuated about the Murray River. The first time the Murray River stopped flowing was in April 1901 downstream of Morgan weir, due to pumping for irrigation during the horrific Federation drought.
The context of the cease-to-flow events in the Murray River over 100 years ago was undisputed at the time, but lost in a generation. The impacts of irrigation diversions on low flows were well acknowledged by the governments and water authorities of the day, and all publications and newspaper reports at the time attributed these conditions to irrigation.
Contrary to popular belief, this history is well known.
Back to Menindee Lakes. In the 1950s and 60s, a series of canals, weirs, walls and barriers were built and Menindee Lakes were basically converted into an inland storage system. In theory, water was stored during flood events and slowly released in drier times.
The mining town of Broken Hill used Menindee Lakes as their playground. People flocked here to swim, fish and relax. Sunset Strip was born, a place where the more affluent people from Broken Hill built holiday houses on the edge of the lake. The Broken Hill to Menindee road was a busy thoroughfare on any given Friday afternoon.
And what about those wetlands up and down the river, what happened to them? Well, some still exist. But they no longer see the natural flooding cycle and most have disappeared due to soil compaction by hoofed animals introduced by the white man.
In this flat country, even a road can be enough to divert water, which would have once flowed into a shallow wetland depression and then recharged the river. And a small levee bank can easily divert water many kilometres off its original course and into a storage dam.
So the plan is to let Menindee Lakes dry out. But what about the marine life, the town of Menindee, the local landholders? If you drive through Menindee now, it's a sad landscape of dead grape vines and orchards, vacant houses and the Sunset Caravan Park, perched on a bone-dry hill facing an empty lake.
You'd think Broken Hill would be welcoming the pipeline with open arms. Nope, they don't want it either.
Menindee farmer Kate McBride said people in the area had been in tears.
"The Menindee Lakes were drained twice within four years and each time it was drained it should have had seven to eight years worth of water," she said.
The Menindee Lakes are at 5 per cent capacity and are expected to be empty by the end of January.
However Mr Blair (state minister) said it was a Federal Government decision to drain water from Menindee, and that the NSW Government only took control of their management when there was more than 480 gigalitres of water in them.
And therein lies part of the problem. Buck-passing on a monumental scale.
Broken Hill has a lot to lose as well. Menindee Lakes are the playground for locals. Boaters, fishermen, families. They all used to flock to Menindee, buying food, equipment, provisions in Broken Hill.
Menindee Lakes, all but dry in October 2018.
The plan is to maintain Menindee Lakes at about 20% of capacity. Hardly enough to wade in.
On the face of it, reducing evaporation in Menindee Lakes seems like a good idea. "More water for the river" is the line touted by politicians. But what other benefits arise?
Worse, this new pipeline has standpipes (take-off pipes poking out of the ground, fitted with ball valves ready for connection) at regular intervals. So if you live along the pipeline and want to buy water, you can. Does this mean we'll be seeing cropping country along the Silver City Highway, cropping in what is effectively sand? Time will tell.
And just how much water is going to be sucked out of the Murray at Wentworth? This river has been on life support for many years. The Murray isn't really a river, more a chain of pools created by locks and weirs.
What's changed, has the Murray magically become an infinite resource?
But what really gets my attention is Cotton Australia the peak body for cotton producers.
They have fallen over themselves to laud the "foresight" of the NSW Government in securing Broken Hill's water supply. I smell a rat.
Well, Broken Hill doesn't need Menindee Lakes' water any more. You might remember the publicity when Broken Hill almost ran out of water in 2015. It's not a good look for the government.
Desperation of farmers and towns downstream who have to drink filthy slimy green muck from the Darling.
Far better to go about their business of maximising profits quietly, away from the public eye.
But the biggest benefit by far (for Cotton Australia at least) is the water that would once go into Menindee Lakes, can now be diverted upstream for irrigation.
The NSW Government get to appear like they're actually doing something for a change and the cotton industry can take even more water. Smoke and mirrors.
A Four Corners investigation has found that in the Barwon-Darling system — a critical link in the wider Murray-Darling Basin — NSW Government water extraction rules have given irrigators more reliable access to water than prior to 2012 when the Basin Plan was signed.
Long-time farmers' advocate Mal Peters, who chaired a Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) statutory committee examining the Barwon-Darling, described the rules as "bloody disgusting".
"It rendered the whole plan, in my mind, completely null and void because the amount of water that could be taken out was huge," he said.
University of New South Wales scientist Richard Kingsford said the revelation "goes against the whole tenet of the [Basin] Plan".
"Environmental water bought by taxpayers is going through pumps into storages to grow cotton, and to me that is the biggest problem that we've currently got," he said.
However, unlike another big buyback also signed last March – which delivered a $37 million windfall for ASX-listed Webster Ltd headed by Chris Corrigan for its Tandou property water rights – the government this time redacted the independent valuer's recommendation.
Ed Fessey, who served on the North Basin Advisory Committee for the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, said the water sold by Mr Dundon only existed in one-off flood events, and is known locally as "goanna water".
"The only time you get it is when goannas are sticking their heads out of the trees [because of flooding]," Mr Fessey said.
So a Federal politician strikes a deal with a big company to buy back water at twice market price… and water that only exists during the biggest flood events… and makes sure the independent valuer's recommendation is redacted. Tell me that doesn't stink.
Still sceptical? Read this about how the $78M buyback was nearly double its valuation.
According to the November 2017 Matthews Report, commissioned by the NSW government in the wake of the explosive allegations aired by Four Corners, most of the effective water controls and regulation do not apply, or are not complied with, in the Upper Darling Basin.
Joyce confirmed in an interview with The Australian that the deal with Webster meant that some of the five lakes making up the Menindee storage system would be permanently "decommissioned".
The Australian reported that Joyce said letting the lakes dry out would save precious water for irrigators in the cotton communities of St George and Dirranbandi, in southern Queensland, and Bourke, Wee Waa and Moree in northern NSW. This was "a much better alternative than having to withdraw water entitlements from large cotton producers like Chinese-owned Cubbie Station, the biggest user of water in Australia".
Did I mention Webster Limited is a major donor to the National Party?
Hang on, what about the farmers and towns downstream of Menindee Lakes? What about the town of Menindee itself? What about the fish, birds, livestock, wildlife who all need water from the Darling to survive?
Hard to see here because they're all dead, but… you're looking at part of an extensive grape vine plantation north of Menindee, now dead.
They all still need water. The lakes are supposed to be filled then slowly released to provide environmental flows and water for those downstream. Clearly that's not going to be possible any more.
People living between Menindee and Wentworth are worried, and with good reason. They can see the writing on the wall for the Darling. Removing Broken Hill from the Menindee Lakes equation frees up the NSW Government to completely change how the water is managed.
While NSW government insists the pipeline is a standalone drinking supply project, there can be no doubt that reducing Broken Hill's reliance on inflows to the lakes frees the government's hand to re-engineer the lake system.
NSW plans to reconfigure the lakes to push water in-and-out faster and store it when necessary in deeper reservoirs, to reduce evaporation, which is estimated at 400GL to 600GL a year.
The water savings would contribute to the water recovery goals of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, which allows states to swap buybacks of irrigation entitlement for the water efficiencies achieved through new infrastructure.
Instead of storing water and releasing it over several years, the lakes can now be used as short term buffer storage. So rather than the consistent environmental flows that were supposed to be running down the Darling, the river would see short pulses of higher flows.
Well, the NSW Government can't afford to store water in Menindee Lakes. As part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan agreement, they have to meet water savings targets. And it just so happens, the evaporation off Menindee Lakes comes pretty close to making up the 350GL they still need in order to meet their target, as explained here.
On paper it's a neat solution. In practice it's a different matter.
Perhaps the NSW Government hadn't actually thought this through. Or maybe they decided these farmers, communities and environment would be collateral damage. We'll probably never know.
So they've now come up with one of the dumbest ideas in the history of government… and that's saying something!
Why not build another pipeline, they thought? One that runs from Wentworth, up the Darling River to Menindee!
This would supply water to farms and communities downstream of Menindee Lakes, which to date have relied on water being slowly released from the lakes.
In other words, replace the river with a pipeline. I'm lost for words.
Some fool came up with this hare-brained idea. Instead of telling this person to have a few days off to get a grasp on reality, the pollies have jumped at it!
Or maybe it was part of the plan all along. After all, it means Menindee Lakes don't need water from the north any more. More water for the irrigators up north methinks.
They've just spent $467 million on the Wentworth to Broken Hill pipeline, all so they can drain Menindee Lakes. Now they want to build another pipeline because they've drained the Lakes.
Predictably, no one wants yet another pipeline… except the politicians of course. Would you want the Darling River replaced with a pipeline if you lived there?
And why have they really drained the lakes? A cynic might suggest it has something to do with building a case for a pipeline from Wentworth to Broken Hill.
We'll effectively have a triangle of pipelines. The Wentworth to Broken Hill one terminates where the old one terminated (at Broken Hill) and the Wentworth to Menindee one will terminate where the old one started from (at Menindee).
And to cap it all off, the Murray River will once again be called upon to supply the shortfall that's now going to end up in huge irrigation ponds upstream.
Is your head spinning yet? We've only just started!
And while we're on the Murray, let's have a look at what's happening upstream of the Murray.
The Hay Plain is the flattest plain on earth. In dry times it looks like the surface of the moon. When you drive from Hay to Balranald, the Murrumbidgee River lies in the distance to your right.
And it's hot, very hot. We're talking high 40's in summer. In fact as I write this in January 2019, Hay recorded 46, 48 and 47 in the last 3 days. Yes it's a heatwave, but not particularly unusual out there.
The Murrumbidgee flows into the Murray, providing a significant contribution to total flow in the Murray. With headwaters hundreds of kilometres away in the Snowy Mountains, the Murrumbidgee is a critical water source for the Murray River system.
The river actually arcs northwards from Hay, like a stretched upside down U. It comes back south-west, passing through Balranald.
Several years ago, a small cotton farm emerged from the soil with its telltale massive storage dams and canals running to and fro. It was on the eastern end of the Hay Plain, beside the highway.
Somewhere between 2016 and 2018, the number of cotton farms along the Murrumbidgee exploded.
From the road, the cotton farms seem to run halfway to Balranald from Hay. But when you look on a map and follow the Murrumbidgee, they run all the way to Balranald on both sides of the river.
Zoom in, inside the square. Follow the network of irrigation canals and crops.
And because the Hay Plain is so flat, the existing creeks can easily be turned into irrigation canals. For example, Nimmie Creek is barricaded where it meets the Murrumbidgee at Maude. Originally it would have been dry except in times of flood. It used to join back into the Murrumbidgee further west, but this has been blocked off.
If you follows Nimmie Creek then follow the irrigation canals splitting off it, you'll see they run all over the plain for hundreds of kilometres in total.
The Murray Darling Basin Plan was legislated in November 2012. Yet this humungous irrigation project was developed well after this legislation came into effect. There's been irrigation north of Hay since 1892, but nothing like the current scale to the west of Hay.
The massive new gin (author: cotton processing facility) is being built by Auscott Limited.
When it opens next autumn, it will be as big as any gin in Australia and plans have already been approved by the Hay Shire Council for it to double in size.
This will make it one of the world's biggest cotton gins.
Cotton is second only to rice in the amount of water it needs (we'll get to some numbers soon). Yet this is allowed to happen in one of the hottest parts of the state.
An example of a turkey nest (cotton storage dam). Obviously this one is dry for now. This is just one of hundreds you'll see in the Murray Darling Basin. You might juuuust be able to make out the far wall in the distance. Based on length, width and depth we estimate this one dam would hold about 20GL (20,000 million litres).
Cotton advocates will no doubt jump on my statement above and declare the only reason cotton can grow here now, is that cooler climate varieties have recently been developed and this is what's growing on the Hay Plain. So how can I say this is one of the hottest parts of the state?
All I'll say to this is have a look at Hay's average summer temperatures. And what about evaporation rates? Have they been factored in? It seems to me like the evaporation issue at Menindee Lakes has simply been moved south to Hay. More on this soon.
Not only is the Murray River expected to pick up the shortfall of the Darling River all the way up to Broken Hill. It's also expected to deal with reduced flows because its tributaries are being sucked dry as well.
This article by Grain Central from June 2018 describes how the Southern region had a record cotton crop in 2018. Ironically they try to spin cotton irrigation as being more water efficient than… rice! Who'd have thought?!
And 2018? Wasn't south-western NSW in the grip of a horrible drought? One which is still going as I write this in January 2019? Where did the water come from to grow a record cotton crop? And who missed out?
Quoting figures from the Grain Central article, 67,500Ha of cotton was grown in the Murrumbidgee Valley in 2018, using on average 9-10 ML/Ha of water. Their figures, not mine.
Yes, that's 9 to 10 million litres per hectare to grow one cotton crop… each and every year.
9 to 10 million litres on every 100 metre x 100 metre patch of dirt. For one crop.
Multiply this by 67,500 Ha and you start to see the scale of the problem.
How about 1,000 litres for every square metre. Or 100 standard 10 litre buckets on every square metre. And 67,500 Ha is the equivalent of 675,000,000 squares, each 1 metre x 1 metre.
One more analogy. Sydney Harbour holds about 500GL (1GL is 1,000 million litres). In one year, cotton crops in the Murrumbidgee Valley used about 675GL. Imagine the equivalent of pumping Sydney Harbour dry and then some, to grow one type of crop.
Do you think Sydneysiders would be willing to wear this? Let's paint a picture.
You look out over the harbour towards the Heads. You can't see the Heads because they are obscured by yet another dust storm coming out of the harbour, blanketing the Eastern suburbs all the way to the South Coast and beyond in choking dust.
If you could see the Heads, you would see an enormous concrete wall right across the Heads. A grand government scheme to fill Sydney Harbour with fresh water and use it to irrigate crops.
And the stench is unbearable. Everything from oysters to whales are rotting in the bottom of the Harbour.Ferries lie tipped on their sides, many metres below the wharves.
The massive irrigation pumps have fallen silent, there's no more water to pump.
And this has happened in less than one year. In less than one year, Sydney Harbour has been sucked dry.
And the irrigators are complaining because they need more water.
Rightly so, Sydneysiders are in uproar. Yet the water minister's response is, "This has been caused by the drought". The irrigation lobby nod their heads furiously in agreement, as they stand behind the water minister on national television.
Now do you start to understand how frustrated people are all over the Murray Darling Basin?
What about the dollars? World cotton prices are high at present, there's good money in cotton. Again, quoting directly from this June 2018 article about record cotton crops in the Southern Region, the Southern Region grew a record 800,000 bales at about $650/bale, a good price.
Remember, this is just one "small" section of water-intensive cropping in the massive Murray Darling Basin. Are you starting to see the scale of the problem… and the money involved?
Scale this up to cover the entire basin and you're looking at mind-blowing numbers. This article has some interesting figures and some really good maps on water usage for the Murray Darling Basin.
No wonder the rivers are dying.
Before we go on, let's compare the surface area of Menindee Lakes with the total area of the cotton irrigation in the Murrumbidgee Valley.
Earlier I said the NSW Government declared they were running down Menindee Lakes to prevent evaporation. On the face of it, a noble cause.
Now Menindee Lakes when all four lakes are full covers 457 square kilometres, or 45,700 Ha.
In comparison, the irrigation water in the Murrumbidgee Valley is spread over a total area of 67,500 Ha. This doesn't include all the storage dams and hundreds of kilometres of canals, all of which are exposed to evaporation.
And again, this is just one section of irrigation in the entire Murray Darling Basin.
So that's 67,500+ Ha of land and storage dams on which the water is spread out over. Of course, some soaks into the soil but how much evaporates?
Does it still make sense to drain Menindee Lakes on one hand, yet allow massive expansion of irrigation on the other? Does it make sense to declare evaporation rates from Menindee Lakes are unacceptable, then allow water to be spread over a bigger surface area further south? I don't think so.
What if the NSW Government had simply left Menindee Lakes alone and not granted water rights to the massive cotton farms west of Hay? All they've done is transfer the evaporation problem south to the Murrumbidgee Valley.
Ah, but hang on. That would mean irrigators upstream of Menindee Lakes would have their water allocations cut. Hmmm, that all sounds too difficult.
Nope, not an option. Certain donors to major political parties would be most upset. If you think I'm being irrational and paranoid, read on.
NSW must deliver 1,312GL per year of water back to the river systems by investing in water-saving projects. It is still 345GL short of the 1,312GL target.
Evaporation off Menindee Lakes is about 425GL per year (when full, but somehow this doesn't seem to enter the equation).
By draining Menindee Lakes, 425GL per year is saved and the NSW Government has met – even exceeded – its water saving target of 1,312GL per year.
So on paper, the box has been ticked and the NSW Government can shower itself in glory about how wonderful they are.
Irrigators have water licences. They are spread all over the state. The NSW Government looks at flows in a given river system and decides how much water to allocate.
They might decide not to allow any pumping from the Lachlan River for example because flows are low.
However they look at the Murrumbidgee and might decide flows are high enough to allow water to be taken. Hence the 675+ GL taken for the 2018 cotton crop.
Or they might look at the Gwydir River system, see the dams upstream are full and allow water to be taken from the Gwydir. Water is released, the irrigators pump and everything is good on paper.
Remember, they have now ticked the environmental box… they've met their 1,312GL water saving target.
The thing is, none of the above scenarios actually look at how much water is actually flowing down the rivers. In the Gwydir example, on paper it doesn't matter whether the flow release from an upstream dam reaches the end of the Gwydir River.
On paper, everything looks great. On the ground, the rivers are dry. A question of semantics.
And I acknowledge that I've oversimplified a complex system of water rights and environmental flows. However, I'm just trying to make sense of it all.
And try telling me this water allocation system isn't wide open to abuse and corruption. If I happen to be a big player with lots of water licences (and I might even donate to the political party in office at the time), I might just expect to be given preferential treatment.
The small players, the small family irrigators seem to be missing out on water allocations when the big companies somehow seem to get what they need.
It seems every river in the Murray Darling system is under stress. As just one example, let's follow the Murrumbidgee further upstream. We'll have a look at a couple of spots.
I'm not singling them out for any reason, other than to point out the scale of the problem. They are simply examples of the scale of mis-management of the entire Murray Darling Basin.
Let's look at the Murrumbidgee from Jugiong to Gundagai and downstream of Gundagai. This is fertile country. The wide river flats and cooler climate allow crops like lucerne to flourish on the rich Murrumbidgee river flats.
Many of these crops are irrigated. This is not an issue when looked at in isolation. After all these soils really are fertile. It makes sense to be adding water to fertile soil in a temperate climate, to grow crops we eat or crops for livestock.
But how is this managed? Who is looking at the big picture? Who is monitoring, policing, ensuring compliance?
Again, I'm not saying the irrigators in this area are doing anything illegal. And I'm not necessarily saying they are allowed to take too much water. I don't know their individual circumstances, this is irrelevant here.
What I'm saying is, who is actually doing the checks and balances… not just around Gundagai but all over the Murray Darling Basin? After all, whatever water is taken from the Murrumbidgee is water lost forever to the Murray… all the way to the Coorong.
Now we'll go further upstream, past Canberra.
After the Millennium drought, Canberra needed to secure its water supply. A pipeline was built from the Murrumbidgee River at Angle Crossing (south of Canberra), up over a mountain range, into Burra Creek which flows into the Queanbeyan River, which then flows into Googong Dam.
Googong Dam supplies water to Queanbeyan and Canberra. The pipeline is capable of pumping 100ML per day out of the Murrumbidgee. When Googong falls below 62%, pumping starts until the dam is 80% full.
"We did operate for a number of weeks, two or three months ago," business services general manager Jane Breaden said.
So when they most needed water, the water wasn't there to pump. Hardly rocket science I wouldn't have thought.
The company (author: Icon Water, who own and maintain the pipeline) said in September water restrictions were unlikely to be needed for 20 years based on climate modelling, current storage and consumption levels, despite farmers on land surrounding the capital struggling through drought.
However an ACT government spokesman said water restrictions could be brought in sooner if dry conditions persisted.
Wow. It sounds like something from the 1950s. Unlimited water, no water restrictions, nirvana. Downstream, the Murrumbidgee is struggling, the Murray is all but dead… yet upstream they have as much water as they want!
Once again, this highlights the mess the Murray Darling Basin is in.
Let's now go north and have a look at what's happening in the Darling River catchment. With the Menindee Lakes effectively empty, where's the water coming from to fill them?
Two things recently occurred which highlighted the dysfunction of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The first was our recent trip along the Darling in October 2018.
We had been there in April 2018, hoping to see the headwaters of the significant March 2018 rain event in Western Queensland. We did in fact see a small flow in April. Exciting to see the river finally getting some water, but hardly a raging flood. More like a trickle.
By the time it reached Tilpa, the water was all but gone.
It shouldn't have been this way. Given the large falls in the northern catchment, the entire Darling River system should have been well and truly flushed out.
Perhaps it was because things like this were happening. Massive harvesting of floodwaters and the MDBA can't do a thing about it.
Over 52 kilometres of earthworks running straight across floodplains, earthworks funded by the MDBA and carried out by Cotton Farmer Of The Year, John Norman.
Thankfully, Norman has since been prosecuted after an extensive criminal investigation uncovered a $20M fraud carried out by Norman Farming. I'll be watching the outcome of the trial with interest.
"I've learnt a lot," Mr Glyde told 7.30.
Although he admitted floodplain harvesting was a serious issue, he acknowledged there was nothing the authority could do in relation to the approval and regulation of irrigation earthworks.
"There's overlapping responsibilities: local, state, different departments," he said.
Full marks to Mr Glyde for visiting. But in typical bureaucratic fashion he ducked behind a wall of bureaucracy.
On Wednesday, the Senate decides whether to pass a proposed reduction in the amount of water Queensland irrigators give back to the ailing Murray Darling River system.
"We don't want the irrigators to be keeping even more water, we want the banks pulled down in Queensland," Mr Lamey said.
Then in August 2018 we spent time around Wentworth and Pooncarie. The river was desperate. Even then, the algal blooms were thriving. The river was no more than stagnant pools of disgusting green slime. The stage was set for a disaster when the warm weather arrived. And this is exactly what happened.
August 2018 at Pooncarie. The algal blooms had already started. By the way, this is the drinking water for Pooncarie. Would you drink this?
We returned in October, picking up the river at Menindee and following it to Brewarrina. Menindee Lakes were virtually dry and the entire river was sick. It was visibly worse, the algal blooms had already grown. A depressing sight.
We left the river, driving east to Walgett, Moree and through Warialda. East of Moree, the drought had eased. In fact, some areas appeared to have had significant rain.
Now this road follows the Gwydir River. Imagine our surprise when we saw crops being irrigated!
What's going on here? The Gwydir is a tributary of the Darling, the bone dry Darling River we had left only a day earlier. Yet obviously farmers along the Gwydir had water allocations!
How the hell does that work?
Our second piece of "Murray Darling Basin Plan madness" was in south-east Queensland in January this year (2019).
We camped at Main Range National Park for a few days. This is south of Toowoomba, near Cunninghams Gap. Dalrymple Creek flows down the unbelievably lush rainforest valley and into the Condamine River.
This is basalt country. Deep black soil and high rainfall. Yet it was clear they needed rain, even the rainforest looked stressed.
It's also part of the Murray Darling Basin.
As Dalrymple Creek meanders down the valley, it is used to irrigate the rich black soils of the valley. Ironically we heard about the massive fish kill around Menindee as we drove past huge irrigation sprinklers sucking water out of Dalrymple Creek… a tributary of the Darling River!
This Queensland valley within the Murray Darling Basin was being irrigated when we were there in January 2019… at exactly the same time as a mass fish kill near Menindee.
Try telling me the Murray Darling Basin Plan is working. I don't think so.
States are acting like they are separate entities, disconnected from adjoining states downstream. And not just Queensland. New South Wales are doing exactly the same thing to Victoria and South Australia. Even the ACT, as you saw earlier.
One of Webster's directors, Joe Robinson, told Four Corners the company was not to blame for pumping environmental flows.
"I agree that if there's a flow that triggers my pumping and that means it does not get to your town, I agree there's a major problem," he said.
With our diverse operations, our success is built around our strong and sustainable asset base and our ability to leverage this scale through our technical expertise for the ultimate benefit of our shareholders.
The expertise of our staff and business partners, together with the significant opportunities afforded by our land holdings across the Murray Darling Basin, provide a significant platform for Webster to grow our agricultural division to a large scale, sustainable commodities business.
Obviously share price is way more important than the communities they operate in.
Do these big companies care when towns like Walgett run out of water and people are transporting bottled water from as far away as Wollongong… just so people have water to drink?
The Darling River is no more than a disgusting slimy green irrigation channel. Despite this, it is captivating. There's something special about camping beside the Darling, with those giant river red gums keeping a silent vigil.
Upstream of Tilpa in September 2014. You're looking at a 6 inch thick solid mat of weed completely covering the river. When this died and rotted later in the year, the river was a stinking, putrid mess.
Unfortunately though, the future's not bright. How can it be when politicians use the Murray Darling as a tool to point-score, caring more about their short-term careers than an ancient waterway in its death throes? And big business treat the rivers as nothing more than a resource to be used and abused until the water has gone and the topsoil blows away.
And what of the Murray River? It has been beaten and flogged to death since white man first laid eyes on it. Nothing has changed, it just gets worse.
It's time to stop looking at these rivers as a resource to be used until nothing's left. Large tracts of the Murray Darling Basin will be nothing more than desert pretty soon if we don't wake up to ourselves and sort out this mess.
The Barkindji people or "people of the river" have long recognised the river (or Barka) is dying. They've agitated to bring this issue to the attention of politicians and the general public, without much success.
The system has reached a tipping point, one from which we won't be able to recover.
Answers to some questions you might have.
What is the Murray Darling Basin?
It is a complex system of over 77,000km of rivers. Waters from the Great Dividing Range flow west into the basin, joining until they form the Darling and Murray Rivers. The Murray eventually flows into the Southern Ocean in South Australia. Go here for details.
Where is the Murray Darling Basin?
It includes all of the ACT, 75% of NSW, 50% of Victoria, 15% of QLD and 8% of South Australia.
How big is the Murray Darling basin?
More than 1 million square kilometres or 14% of mainland Australia.
Why is the Murray Darling basin important?
It is home to hundreds of species of native animals, providing food and breeding grounds.
It is Australia's main agricultural region.
It supplies water to millions of people including Adelaide.
What is the Murray Darling Basin Plan?
It is supposed to protect the basin from overuse, ad hoc planning decisions and to monitor and control water usage. Go here for a clear explanation.
Where does the Murray River start?
It starts on the western slopes of the Australian alps.
Where is the Murray River?
It forms the border between NSW and Victoria, then flows through the south-eastern corner of South Australia, into the Southern Ocean.
How long is the Murray River?
2500km from the headwaters in the Australian Alps to the mouth at the Southern Ocean.
Where does the Darling River start?
It starts in northern New South Wales and runs into the Murray River at Wentworth at the NSW/Victoria border.
Where is the Darling River?
It is in New South Wales.
How long is the Darling River?
It is 1,472km long, the third longest river in Australia.
For articles on The Darling River Run, go here.